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顧不得

简顾不得 · 繁顧不得

Mandarin · pinyin gù bu de

unable to change sth
unable to deal with

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Characters in this entry

顧: Look up this written character
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
顾: gù · look back; look at; look after

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–5–5 · gu4 bu5 de5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

顧不得 · find source passages ↗ · 顾不得 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to be unable to take care of; to have to disregard (e.g. to have no time to do something)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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